The Funeral
by Avery Lee
Summary: After Fairy Tail heard of Natsu Dragneel's death they decided that his funeral deserves to be announced to the country. Gray told the Master what ended up happening, but now it's time for his other friends and family to learn the truth. The truth of the lost boy named Natsu Dragneel. Sequel to It's Time, I suggest reading that one first.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

 _A.N: Some people have asked for a sequel for It's Time, so I decided to write this little piece up. I wrote 3/4's of it last night around four in the morning and I ended up finishing it up around four in the afternoon. I might add little side stories with the feelings of other members, but as of right now this will probably be the end of the AU of It's Time. I would love to hear any of your thoughts and concerns, and I do hope you enjoy reading this one as well._

 _Cheers,_

 _Avery Lee_

* * *

 _The Funeral_

Who would have thought the death of Natsu Dragneel would cause the country of Fiore to mourn. He was a reckless and destructive fool, but also caring and protective. He was the type of wizard who risked his own live to keep other's safe. Sure, he never voiced out that he was fighting the toughest opponent to keep the other's from harm, but it was a known fact that Natsu had a fighting spirit like no other. He took hits for friends and stuck his neck out multiple times in hopes of crushing his family's fears. He was responsible for the destruction of buildings and sometimes even the environment, but he did so to protect the people of Fiore from harm.

Natsu Dragneel was the heart of Fairy Tail. When everyone else lost hope he stood in the middle and urged his family to regain their fighting spirit. He refused to let other's be down for long. He brought happiness and cheer to the guild; he was the sun in their dark fears. When things turned too dark he would willingly say something idiotic or start a fight with Gray to lighten up the mood. And when one harmed his family he wasn't scared to attack. He had no fear of who he attacked, even if the person was indeed stronger than him.

Natsu Dragneel had forced his way into the hearts of many. Enemies that he fought, employers that hired him, and other wizards who met him usually became his friend afterwards. They understood that he was an important member of Fairy Tail. He might not have always been the strongest, but that never mattered to him. He continued to train and protect his comrades from danger.

He had become a well-known wizard thanks to his Dragon Slayer powers. He was the rumored Salamander, the wizard who could create fire without store bought items. He found himself often dragged or stumbled into a crisis, but he took it with stride. He was willing enough to fight a demon, to fight one of the wizard saints, to fight dark guild members, and to fight dragons. He wasn't scared, and for the most part he always succeeded in the end.

It was ironic that the savior and heart of Fairy tail ended up being killed by one of his own. And to make matters worse, it had been a member of Team Natsu who finished him off. Wasn't that just ironic? The guild who treated each other as family ended up having one of their guildmates murdered by a teammate? Sure, they have heard rumors about Laxus having a rebellious stage, but in the end no one in the guild was actually killed.

It was no surprise to find Magnolia swarmed the day of Natsu Dragneel's funeral. The boy had a heart of gold and a smile no one would ever be able to recreate. The Fairy Tail guild welcomed anyone who wanted to attend the funeral and in the air was a silent promise. If anyone dared to use this time as an attack they would not be able to escape alive.

When the funeral had started the Master of the guild stood in front of the giant statue behind him with his frown apparent to the crowd. Master Makarov has been the one to bring the young child back to Fairy Tail and it was hard for him to be officially announcing his death. He knew something was off about Natsu the first time he saw him, but he never would have thought he would be apart of something so large.

"Before the funeral begins I would like everyone to close their eyes and clear their hearts of hatred for the wizard known as Gray Fullbuster. He has agreed to stand in front of you all and inform you the story behind Natsu's death. If any of you dare to touch a finger on my child I will promise you despair - does everyone here understand the consequences of going against my words?" the guild master demanded, his voice hard in resolve. Gray had already told him the entire story, and he had told his children to wait until the funeral to hear the rest. However he knew, the rumors in Fiore have turned Gray into the bad guy. "Since that is now out of the way I would like to begin the real service with Gray coming in front."

Gray nervously pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and walked forward, silently thanking Erza and Lucy for walking beside him. He hugged each girl before wiping his sweaty palms onto his jeans, standing besides the master.

"I'm sorry," Gray bowed his head in front of the crowd, tears already streaming down his face with snot apparent on his face, "I shouldn't be able to cry over the death of him, but I'm unable to freeze my heart. Despite our differences I have always seen Natsu as my younger brother. We fought and argued all the time, but that was our own way of showing our affection towards each other. To those outside of our guild it would appear as if we really hated each other, but despite all of the name calling and fights we were just being stubborn about our friendship.

"The story I'm about to tell you probably isn't for the light-hearted, and for the most part it is only one-sided since I am unsure of how his thought process fully worked. And if my voice cracks or I go silent at any moment please forgive me; I...I am still trying to realize that this isn't a nightmare. That it was me who actually killed off Natsu.

"Natsu approached me after our seven year disappearance and told me that Zeref said his name as soon as he helped Elfman and Evergreen. Natsu ended up attacking him in shock and was able to survive the curse Zeref had. Natsu also informed me that he was once shot in the mouth by a gun. Normally one would be killed by that, yes? He wasn't affected much. He was able to stand up and help fight once again.

"At that time, while I thought it was odd, I figured it had something to do with him being a Dragon Slayer. Dragon Slayers were rare back then, and it was hard to say what was normal and what wasn't around them. Which had me thinking... How could a Dragon train a human without being noticed? Sure they could have had a nice hiding spot, but someone would have noticed something abnormal. How could Natsu, and the other Dragon Slayers actually, be trained by a Dragon in our time? Dragons are considered legends and haven't been seen in ages.

"Turns out I was right. Natsu Dragneel wasn't really from our time. In fact, he was from the past 400 years ago. Yes, I know, that sounds like a fantasy, but it all makes sense. Why would Zeref, a dark wizard from the past, know Natsu's name? Not only did Zeref know his name, but he also had tears.

"The next bit of information will probably shock you all, so please take a seat if you are already feeling light-headed. Natsu Dragneel was Zeref Dragneel's younger brother. Natsu died from a dragon attack and Zeref couldn't bare the pain of losing his little brother. Zeref, from that day on, researched magic to bring his brother back. And, after awhile, he finally succeeded in bringing his brother back, but this time as a demon.

"Natsu Dragneel was reborn as END. The strongest demon that Zeref has ever created. Unfortunately for him, Natsu lost all of his memories. He couldn't remember anything. So Zeref decided to ask Igneel to take care of Natsu. He didn't want to see Natsu defensiveness again.

"When Natsu found out that he was a demon he approached me and demanded that I killed him. I-I didn't want to do it, but he stood in front of me, arms stretched out, with that damn smile on his face. He looked calm, telling me to kill him, and I would have believed him if his voice didn't start to crack. I-I... I should have talked him out of it, but he continued to talk on. He already cheated death enough. He was ready to see Igneel, Zeref, and his real parents again.

"A-And when I took the final strike," Gray paused, swallowing nervously, "Natsu's eyes met mine, his smile still on his face before mouthing his last words. Thank you, Gray. T-That idiot thanked me for taking his life and all I could do was sob over his dead body, refusing to believe that this was reality. I took the life of my rival. My best friend. H-He revealed that he had tried to take his life multiple times, but nothing harmed him enough.

"I know I don't deserve you all to forgive me, but please understand that Natsu wanted me to kill him to keep you all safe. He didn't want END to escape. He still wanted to protect Fiore. And in the end, he did." Gray bowed in front of the crowd once more before stepping back towards Erza and Lucy, wrapping his arms around them in a tight hug, sobbing with them. He should have tried to reason with Natsu more, but if they saw him they would realize the truth. Natsu was ready to finally get his eternal rest.


End file.
